Kukla's Korner Hockey

He just doesn’t fit in D.C. in Bruce Boudreau’s system, and he’s terribly expensive at a transitional time in his career (nearing the end). Initially his production slipped precipitously as he struggled to try and fit in Gabby’s get-up-and-go gallop, but more recently he’s been unable even to crack the lineup. And so he’s doubly or triply tough to move—he has a no movement clause in his contract as a bit of an exclamation point in this impasse.

If Michael Nylander held out any hope of contributing to the Caps this season, Capitals’ management threw seriously cold water on it with the acquisition of Brendan Morrison over the summer, and that just days after suggesting that Brooks Laich would be seriously auditioned at center on the Capitals’ second line. Then Bruce Boudreau quashed the notion of Nyls contributing altogether this preseason. Figuratively and literally Michael Nylander has been divorced from the competitive portion of training camp, failing to dress for a single preseason game. I can’t ever recall such isolation of an individual player in a Capitals’ preseason before.